Repair device for locomotive hood door latches

ABSTRACT

A repair device for the hood door latch of a locomotive and comprising a substantially U-shaped element which may be easily secured to the door latch for restoring the door latch to an efficient latching operation without removal of the latch from the door and without alteration of the latch structure itself.

United States Patent [1 1 Touchstone Sept. 17 1974 [54] REPAIR DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE 2,003,062 5/1935 Wickwire 85/49 HOOD DOOR LATCHES 2,621,952 12/1952 Gander 292/223 X 3,522,924 8/1970 Arnold, Jr 85/13 X Inventor: Roy H. Touchstone, PO. Box 2003,

Jackson, Tenn. 38301 Filed: July 26, 1972 Appl. No.: 275,210

US. Cl 292/1, 292/223, 292/D1G. 49 Int. Cl. E05c 19/18 Field of Search 85/13, 49; 292/1, 2, 194,

292/223, DIG. 56, DIG. 49; 339/265 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1916 Joy 292/D1G. 56

Primary Examiner-Richard E. Moore Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Mildred K. Flowers [57] ABSTRACT A repair device for the hood door latch of a locomotive and comprising a substantially U-shaped element which may be easily secured to the door latch for restoring the door latch to an efficient latching operation without removal of the latch from the door and without alteration of the latch structure itself.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENIEU SEP 1 71974 SHEET 1 OF 2 REPAIR DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE HOOD DOOR LATCI-IES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to improvements in door latch repair devices and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a repair device for locomotive hood door latches.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is a governmental requirement that locomotive hood doors be provided with latch devices which efficiently and securely retain the hood door in a closed position to preclude the escape of poluting gases, and the like, which cause damage and otherwise contaminate the areas surrounding the hood doors. The door latch in use on many locomotive hoods comprises a retainer member engagable with the hood frame and hingedly secured to the latch in such a manner that the retainer element is spring urged against the frame for securely holding the door in the closed position. During use of the latch, however, the apertures at the hinge connections frequently become elongated, and the hinge action for retaining the retainer element in position becomes loose or sloppy" whereby the door is not held securely, and the door may rattle and leak. It is the usual practice to remove the entire latch from the hood door and repair the hinge connection in order to restore the latch to an efficient operation. This procedure not only requires loss of use time for the locomotive but also the cost for the repair of the latch is usually quite expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a novel repair device which may be quickly and easily secured to the hood door latch without removal of the latch from the door, and without alteration of the latch structure itself. The novel device comprises a bar element having a pair of spaced legs or prongs extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom providing a substantially U- shaped element. In addition, a support member is se-v cured to the bar for facilitating retaining of the repair element in position on the latch. The bar element is disposed against the frame engaging edge of the hinged latch retainer element, and the prongs extend along one face of the retainer element while the support member is disposed against the opposite face thereof. A special tool is utilized for engaging the outer ends of the prong members and bending the outer ends around the opposite edge of the retainer element in order to secure the repair device thereon. Finally a normal pair of pliers, or the like, are utilized for securely clamping or pinching the bent outer ends of the prongs into a tight engagement with the retainer element. With the repair device thus installed on the door latch, the bar member thereof engages the hood frame in the same manner that the outer edge of the retainer element of the latch and compensated for the looseness of the latch action caused by the worn hinge points of the latch. The novel repair device may be quickly and easily installed on the latch, and permits an efficient operation for an extended period of time for the latch until such time that the latch becomes so worn that replacement thereof is necessary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a locomotive hood door latch having a repair device embodying the invention installed thereon.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a repair device embodying the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a locomotive hood door latch installed on a locomotive hood. and depicts the initial step of installing a repair device embodying the invention thereon.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 depicting the next succeeding step in installing the repair device on the hood door latch.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the retaining element of a hood door latch and depicts the final step in installing the repair device of the invention thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character generally indicates a locomotive hood door latch such as normally in use today on the GP. and 8D. model locomotive hood doors. The latch 10 as shown herein comprises a mounting plate 12 having a plurality of apertures 14 provided therein for receiving suitable bolts, rivets, or the like (not shown), therethrough for securing the latch to the inside of a locomotive hood door 16 (FIGS. 3 and 4). An enlarged or bulbous housing element 18 is provided on the plate 12 which extends rearwardly from the door 16 and having the outer portion (not shown) thereof open for access from the exterior of the locomotive hood door for a purpose as will be herinafter set forth. A substantially U-shaped handle member 20 is disposed in the enlarged portion 18 and the spaced ends 22 and 24 thereof extend through apertures or slits. 26 and 28, respectively, and into the inner side of the door 16. The ends 22 and 24 are pivotally secured at 30 and 32, respectively, to a pair of aligned oppositely disposed outwardly extending flanges 34 and 36 provided on the plate 12. A rod 38 is secured between the ends 22 and 24 and a suitable spring 40 is anchored between the rod 38 and a hook member 42 provided on the plate 12.

A channel-type member 44 is pivotally secured to the rod 38 in any suitable manner for encasing a plurality of suitable springs 46 and 48. A rod 50 extends between the flanges 34 and 36 and across the open outer end of the channel-like member 44 as clearly shown in FIG. 1 and retains the springs 46 and 48 therein, as well as provides a pivotal connection for the outer end of the member 44. A door retainer element 52 is pivotally secured to the rod 50. The retainer element 52 comprises a pair of spaced link arm members 54 and 56 integral with a main plate member 58 which is provided with an outer edge 59 for engaging the locomotive hood frame 60 (FIGS. 3 and 4) in the closed position of the door 16 and latched position of the latch 10.

When the pivot connections or hinge points of the latch 10 become worn, such as by an elongation of the bores wherein the pivot shafts and connections engage the glanges 34 and 36, the edge 58 may not engage the hood frame 60 with sufficient pressure for securely retaining the door 16 in the closed position. When this occurs, a repair device generally indicated at 61 may be quickly and easily secured to the retaining element 52 for re-establishing a pressure engagement between the latch and the hood frame 60 to insure an efficient latching of the door 16 in the closed position thereof.

The repair device 61 comprises a bar member 62 preferably of a length complementary to the length of the edge 59 of the retainer element 52. A support block 64 is welded or otherwise secured to one edge of the bar 62 as clearly shown in FIG 2. A pair of prong members 66 and 68 extend substantially perpendicularly from the plate 62 and the plane determined by the prong members 66 and 68 is spaced from the support block 68 a distance complementary to the width of the plate member 58 of the retainer 52. The prongs 66 and 68 may be in the form of a substantially U-shaped element having the cross member portion 70 thereof welded to the bar 62 in spaced relationship to the support block 64.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, in order to install the repair device 61, the handle member 20 of the latch 10 may be manually grasped and pulled outwardly to the position shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. This opens the latch 10 and places the retainer element in an accessible position. The repair device 61 may then be disposed on the plate 58 of the retainer element 52 in such a manner that the bar 62 is disposed adjacent the edge 59, the support block or brace 64 is disposed against the outer surface of the plate 58, and the prongs 66 and 68 are disposed adjacent the inner surface of the plate 58. It will be readily apparent that the prongs 66 and 68 are longer than the plate 58 and the outer ends of the prongs extend beyond the retainer 52.

A special tool 72 is provided in combination with the repair device 61 for facilitating the installation thereof. The tool 72 is substantially elongated rod having one end thereof having a tapered portion as shown at 74. A portion of the said one end is flat as shown at 76 and substantially perpendicular with respect to the longitudinal dimension of the rod 72 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth. A bore 78 extends longitudinally in the rod 72 at the tapered end thereof for receiving a prong 66 or 68 therein. The bore 78 is preferably of a diameter complementary to the diameter of the prongs 66 and 68 whereby the prongs may be easily inserted therein, but may be easily manipulated by the tool 72 as will be hereinafter set forth. Of course, it will be apparent that the prongs 66 and 68 may be of any desired cross-sectional configuration, with the crosssectional configuration of the bore 78 being complementary with respect thereto.

The tool 72 may be placed against the retainer element 52 withe the flat end 76 in engagement therewith and the prong 66 inserted within the bore 78 as shown in FIG. 3. The tool 72 may then be manually moved to the position shown in FIG. 4 whereby the prong 66 is bent at substantiallyright angles against the outer end of the retainer 52. The tool 72 may be similarly engaged with the prong 68 and manipulated for bending the prong 68 in a similar manner.

Any normal or standard pair of pliers may then be used in the normal manner for folding the bent end of the prong 66 against the outer surface of the plate 58 as shown in FIG. 5, and theprong 68 may be similarly folded against the outer surface of the plate 58. This secures the repair device to the retainer element 52, and the bar 62 is now in position to engage the hood frame in the manner of the edge 59.

Subsequent to the installation of the repair device 61 on the latch 10, the handle 20 may be manually moved to a lowered position, as shown in FIG. 1, thus bringing the bar 72 into engagement with the hood frame 60 in the same manner as the edge 58 of an unworn latch 10. The repaired latch 10 may be utilized in the normal manner for efficiently retaining the door 16 in a closed position.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a repair device for locomotive hood door latches which may be quickly and easily installed on the latch without removal of the latch from the locomotive, and without alteration of the actual structure of the latch itself. The installation of the repair device may be accomplished at substantially any site wherein the locomotive may be located, and requires very little loss of use time for the locomotive. The novel repair device may manually disposed over the retainer element of the latch, and quickly and easily clamped securely thereon by the use of a special tool and a standard pair of pliers. The novel device is simple and efficient in operation and economical and durable in construction.

Whereas the present invention has been described in particular relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A repair device for locomotive hood door latches having a retainer element with a latch engagement edge, and comprising bar means disposed adjacent said engagement edge. means secured to the bar means for spanning the retainer element for facilitating retaining of the bar means against the engagement edge. and means for clamping the device securely on the retainer element, and wherein the securing means comprises prong means secured to the bar means and extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom, support plate means secured to the bar means and spaced from the prong means for receiving said engagement edge therebetween, and said prong means comprises a substantially U-shaped member having the cross member thereof welded to the bar means and the legs thereof extending substantially perpendicularly from the bar means. 

1. A repair device for locomotive hood door latches having a retainer element with a latch engagement edge, and comprising bar means disposed adjacent said engagement edge, means secured to the bar means for spanning the retainer element for facilitating retaining of the bar means against the engagement edge, and means for clamping the device securely on the retainer element, and wherein the securing means comprises prong means secured to the bar means and extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom, support plate means secured to the bar means and spaced from the prong means for receiving said engagement edge therebetween, and said prong means comprises a substantially U-shaped member having the cross member thereof welded to the bar means and the legs thereof extending substantially perpendicularly from the bar means. 